Vital Energi to Save one of Europe's Largest Teaching Hospitals £2.5m a Year

Vital Energi and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have entered into a 15 year partnership which will see us provide a full and comprehensive energy solution for the St James's site and guarantee savings of £2.5m per year over the contract term.

We were awarded the scheme which consists of a turnkey solution providing the design, build, operation, maintenance and ESCo services for the hospital.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals are one of the largest in Europe, employing almost 18,000 members of staff, therefore reliability of supply was a key factor when deciding upon the solution. The Trust have an existing 20 year old CHP gas turbine energy centre which was due for replacement and therefore we proposed a more efficient and cost effective solution. Following extensive analysis of the Trust’s requirements, we identified that opting for a 4.5MWe CHP engine as an alternative to a replacement gas turbine would deliver greater efficiencies for the hospital, and provide a more cost effective energy supply.

As the ESCo energy partner, we have provided the finance for the £8.4m project which will eventually fund itself through the guaranteed savings of £2.5m per year, allowing for the hospital to benefit straight away without committing capital expenditure.

The scope of works will see us operate the existing energy centre for a period of around 6 months before refurbishing it with newer and more efficient equipment, as well as adapting existing infrastructure to cater for the additional low temperature hot water which will be provided from the CHP. The build is set to be completed by June 2020 with Vital providing assurances by committing to delivering the energy savings from this point.

Phil Mottershead, Account Director at Vital Energi, explains, “Due to the 24/7 nature of the hospital’s environment, we have designed a careful implementation schedule to alleviate disruptions on daily operation. We look forward to delivering the scheme and working in partnership with the Trust over the next 15 years.”

Mick Taylor, the Trust’s Project Manager, pointed out that the efficiencies that the project will deliver will not only bring financial savings on the current energy budget, but will also reduce the carbon emissions of the site which will contribute to making Leeds a cleaner city.

Due to the close proximity to Vital’s Leeds PIPES District Heating Network, there is the possibility to make connection to the hospital’s network in the future to provide further benefits.